Aldi Mom's Make It Better: Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

This is Aldi Mom's "Make It Better" Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon recipe. Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon is an appreciated dish at many events and holiday feasts. You may find people asking you for the recipe, or simply telling you that your Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon is the best Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon they've ever had! So let's begin with the ingredients you need for this recipe:

• 1 32 oz. Box of Macaroni Noodles. (Not macaroni and cheese, just the noodles.)
• 1 Package of Bacon.
• 1 Cup of Brown Sugar.
• 1-16 oz. Block of Cheese. I use ALDI's version of THIS.
• 1/2 Stick of Butter.
• 2 Cups of Plain Bread Crumbs.
• 2 Cups of Shredded Cheddar Cheese.
• Spray Butter, or Spray Olive Oil.

Note: This recipe is enough to feed a party of 20.

Now, you can substitute the bacon for ham pieces, the macaroni noodles for any other type of noodle, and the cheddar shredded cheese for any other type of cheese. That's what makes this recipe so fun! You can get creative with it yourself by swapping out some of the ingredients.

1. Cook the bacon in a skillet. Half the package at a time. During the first half, add in 1/2 a cup of brown sugar evenly across the bacon. Let it cook and repeat with the second half. Set the finished bacon aside.
2. Boil the macaroni noodles and strain. Put back into the boiling pan.
3. Combine the butter, block of cheese, and noodles in the boiling pan. Mix. It is helpful to pull the cheese apart in chunks and cover with the hot noodles a few minutes and then mix. This lets the cheese melt a little and it is easier to mix.
4. In a large aluminum disposable pan, empty out half the macaroni evenly across.
5. Tear the bacon into pieces no more than 1 inch long and evenly top the first layer with half the bacon.
6. Evenly top the first layer with shredded cheddar cheese.
7. Repeat with the rest of the mac, and finish by adding the rest of the bacon and shredded cheese.
8. Top with bread crumbs.
9. Spray with spray butter or olive oil just enough to barely wet the bread crumbs. (This allows for the crumbs to get crunchy instead of powdery during baking.)
10. Bake at 350 and take out when the sides and bread crumbs start to brown.

Add salt and pepper to taste. You may top with chives, or another favorite herb, for looks. A good time to do this is before baking. Add the herbs to the top of the bread crumbs and then spray with the butter or oil.

I have received so many compliments on my Aldi Mom's "Make It Better" Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon that I almost always make this dish now when I bring a dish to an event. Let me know if you made it, if you alternated anything, added anything, etc. And what your family or friends thought. :)